A strange and poorly written section of the Pennsylvania School Code came into play at a special meeting of the Pleasant Valley School Board on Monday.

The board met to interview candidates to fill the position recently vacated by director Steve Borger.But instead of fulfilling the term vacated by Borger, the new appointee will only serve until the first Monday in December.Monroe County purchasing rep and former journalist, Ken Cocuzzo bested seven other candidates for the position of school board director."When I saw we had eight people to interview I knew this was going to be a tough one," said board president Russell Gould. "Now that I have heard them all I didn't realize just how hard it would be."The candidates, all o registered voters living in the district included Thomas Murphy, who had previously served on the board and Joel Smith, a teacher from another district. Both had run for school board during the recent primary, but are not currently on the ballot for November's general election.Other applicants were: John Matthews, an IT professional and grant writer who works for Chestnuthill Township; Jason Kish, an educator working for East Stroudsburg University's Operation Outreach, and Kristi Snider, an educator in Monroe County. Wendy Cronshey and Gerald McGuigan also applied.During the individual interviews, which were open to the public, each of the candidates answered the same eight questions. All eight identified the same issues as areas of concern - mainly budget/taxes, quality of education and the dwindling student population.All of the candidates said they believed that they would respect the confidentiality of the executive sessions and that they have no conflicts that would affect their ability to attend meetings.Cocuzzo was asked, in his opinion, what made him stand out from other candidates."I believe in getting the job done. If I start something, I finish to the best of my ability. As a journalist and purchasing rep, I'm used to situations and events changing quickly," he said. "Sometimes you have to shift gears on the fly without any warning to meet challenges that need immediate attention."Cocuzzo said he sees the uncertainty of state funding and the countywide reassessment as areas of concern.The board members took the time to thank the candidates and express their appreciation for their interest. "I really hope you all understand how very hard a decision this was, you all made this very hard for us to decide," Gould said.Shortened termSchool Board solicitor Daniel Corveleyn said Cocuzzo's term will expire on the first Monday in December due to Section 315 of the School Code which says that if the vacancy comes more than 61 days before a general election the political parties may nominate a candidate to appear on the ballot. Had Borger resigned less than 60 days prior to the election Cocuzzo's appointment would have lasted until the end of Borger's term.Because the candidates running for the school board cross-filed, even though there are four seats up for election, only one is actually contested. The open seat was originally held by H. Charles Hoffman, who passed away shortly after his re-election to the board. Doug Wisser was appointed to fill Hoffman's seat.November's election is the first since Hoffman's death so the open seat is for a term of two years. As it stands current board members, Robert Serfass and Linda Micklos are running against each other for that seat.If the party chairmen do not nominate a candidate to run for Borger's seat, both Micklos and Serfass will return to the board for a two-year term each. If either, or both parties nominate a candidate, then Corveleyn said any of those on the ballot in November could take any of the two open seats.The nominations would have to be made no later than Aug. 14 in order to appear on the November ballot.